Simon Hodgkinson

Last updated

Simon Hodgkinson (born 15 December 1962) is a former England international rugby union player. He represented England at fullback between 1989 and 1991, gaining 14 Test caps.

Contents

Career

Hodgkinson made his debut against Romania in Bucharest in 1989 [1] and was a main part of the side which completed the Grand Slam at the 1991 Five Nations Championship, kicking 60 points in four matches (a world record at the time, but had since been broken by Jonny Wilkinson). He had goal-kicking stats of 80.23% successful place-kicks (penalties and conversions) over his career - an extremely high rate in the years of amateur rugby: and still holds the record for the most penalties converted in a Five Nations/Six Nations match with the seven he successfully converted in the 25-6 victory over Wales in Cardiff. [2] However, he was primarily a consistent place-kicker and not viewed as much of an attacking threat; after harsh criticism of England's dour forward-based tactics in their 1991 Grand Slam he was replaced by Jonathan Webb, previously considered less consistent with the boot, in both place-kicks and penalties, but was seen to be more adventurous with the ball in hand. Hodgkinson was however in the squad for the 1991 Rugby World Cup held in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and France: and played in the victorious team against United States of America. [1] Hodgkinson scored 203 points in his 14 appearances, with a sole try coming against Argentina in Buenos Aires on tour in 1990. [3] Although he might be considered unlucky to have lost his place when he did, injuries curtailed his subsequent career and he was never able to regain a place in the international team.

Hodgkinson was later named as the idol of one of the world's best players, Jonny Wilkinson - which was mentioned in his biography Jonny.

Personal life

Simon Hodgkinson married farmer's daughter Fiona Radley (Fiona Hodgkinson) in Southwell Minister on 22 August 1992. Their first child Olivia Honor Hodgkinson was born on 15 November 1994, and their second daughter Anna Victoria Hodgkinson was born on 25 August 1998. Both children attended Wellow House Prep School in Ollerton, Nottinghamshire and at the age of 13 to 18 they both attended Oundle School, Northamptonshire.

During his club career, he played for Nottingham and Moseley, where he captained for 3 seasons. He retired from being one of the head rugby coaches at Oundle School, Northamptonshire along with John Olver in 2017 after 15 years of coaching.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry John</span> Welsh rugby union player (1945–2024)

Barry John was a Welsh rugby union fly-half who played in the 1960s and early 1970s during the amateur era of the sport. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC before switching to the first-class west Wales team Llanelli RFC in 1964. Whilst at Llanelli, John was selected for the Wales national team—as a replacement for David Watkins—to face a touring Australian team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonny Wilkinson</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and French side Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scoring the winning drop goal in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final and is widely acknowledged as one of the best rugby union players of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Guscott</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Jeremy Clayton Guscott is a British former rugby union outside centre who played for Bath, England and the British and Irish Lions. He also appeared for England on the wing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand</span> Rugby union team tour

In 2005, the British & Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing seven matches against first and second division teams from the National Provincial Championship, one match against the New Zealand Maori team, and three test matches against New Zealand. The Lions lost the test series 3-0, the first time in 22 years that they lost every test match on tour.

Michael John Catt OBE is a South African-born former rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team. He played professionally for the clubs London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international caps for England and played in two World Cup Finals, in 2003 and 2007. With his appearance in the October 2007 final, at age 36 years 1 month, he became the oldest ever player to play in a Rugby World Cup final. Since 2008, Catt has coached various rugby teams, and has since 2019 been an assistant coach for the Ireland national rugby team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Jenkins</span> Wales and British Lions international rugby union player and coach

Neil Jenkins, is a Welsh former rugby union player and current coach. He played fly-half, centre, or full back for Pontypridd, Cardiff, Celtic Warriors, Wales and the British & Irish Lions. Jenkins is Wales' highest ever points-scorer and is the fifth highest on the List of leading rugby union test point scorers. He was the first player to score 1,000 points in international matches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Burke (rugby union, born 1973)</span> Rugby player

Matthew Coleman Burke is an Australian former international rugby union player and sport presenter on Sydney's 10 News First.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Andrew</span> British Lions & England international rugby union footballer & cricketer

Christopher Robert Andrew is a former English rugby union player and was, until April 2016, Professional Rugby Director at the RFU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Jones (rugby union)</span> Wales and British Lions international rugby union player

Stephen Michael Jones is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player who played primarily at fly-half. He played more than 100 times for Wales and six times for the British & Irish Lions.

The History of the England national rugby union team covers the period since 1871, when the England national rugby union team played Scotland in the first ever rugby union international.

Andrew David "Butch" James is a South African former professional rugby union player who represented South Africa 40 times and was a member of the team that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup. His usual position was fly-half, though he also played inside centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Rugby World Cup final</span> Football match

The 2003 Rugby World Cup Final was the final match of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the fifth edition of the Rugby World Cup competition organised by the International Rugby Board (IRB) for national rugby union teams. The match was played at Stadium Australia in Sydney on 22 November 2003, and was contested by Australia and England. The 20-team competition consisted of a group stage, from which eight squads qualified for the knockout stage. En route to the final, Australia finished first in Pool A with four wins and no losses or draws before defeating Scotland in the quarter-final and New Zealand in the semi-final. England finished on top of Pool C and, like Australia, went undefeated with four victories and no draws before beating Wales in the quarter-final and France in the semi-final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Webb</span> England international rugby union player

Jonathan Mark Webb is a specialist knee surgeon and former English rugby union fullback. Webb played for the England national team from 1987 to 1993, reaching the 1991 World Cup Final and winning two Five Nations grand slam titles. Since retiring from sport in 1993, he has focused on his career in orthopaedic surgery and has treated a number of professional rugby players and athletes. His father was the noted paediatrician John Webb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Rugby World Cup final</span> Football match

The 2007 Rugby World Cup final was a rugby union match, played on Saturday, 20 October 2007 at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis, Paris, to determine the winner of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. South Africa beat England 15–6. Having also won the 1995 tournament, South Africa became the second country to win two World Cups, following Australia, who won in 1991 and 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leigh Halfpenny</span> Wales and British Lions international rugby union player

Stephen Leigh Halfpenny is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a fullback or wing for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. Halfpenny is the third highest points scorer for Wales after Neil Jenkins and Stephen Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owen Farrell</span> England international rugby union player (born 1991)

Owen Andrew O'Loughlin Farrell is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Premiership Rugby club Saracens.

The 2010 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2010 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Championship and the 116th international championship, an annual rugby union competition between the six major European national teams. The tournament was held between 6 February and 20 March 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Rugby World Cup</span> 5th Rugby World Cup

The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup Limited. The pre-event favourites were England, regarded by many at the time as the best team in the world. New Zealand, France, South Africa and defending champions Australia were also expected to make strong showings, with New Zealand being second favourites after victory in the southern-hemisphere Tri-Nations championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayumu Goromaru</span> Rugby player

Ayumu Goromaru is a former Japanese rugby union player who played at fullback for Yamaha Júbilo as well as the Japan national rugby union team.

The 2016 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2016 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by The Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship.

References

  1. 1 2 "Simon Hodgkinson Test Bio". sportingheroes.net. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  2. "Six Nations Records". bbc.co.uk. 27 January 2006. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  3. "Simon Hodgkinson Test stats". sportingheroes.net. Retrieved 11 October 2008.